Use Compass components in Jira Software to understand the impact of your team's work

[#1]

Try Compass today! 

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Hello Jira Software community,

I’m Katie, one of the product managers on Compass, Atlassian’s newest product. Compass is a developer experience platform designed to help engineers spend less time searching and stay in their flow state. Today I’m here to talk with you about a new feature that you may have noticed in your Jira Software projects: Compass components. A Compass component is a standalone piece of software that requires an owner – so a service, library, application, data model, or anything you can think of along those lines.

TL;DR:

• Tag Jira Software issues with Compass components to keep track of what your team is working on, and use Compass metrics and scorecards to understand the impact of that work. This information can help you make informed decisions about where to invest your team’s time.

• Compass components are an optional feature that improves upon the existing concept of Jira components. You can use Compass components in filters, on boards, and more. They can be turned off and on by project admins on their individual projects.

• When enabled, Compass components will automatically show up in the dropdown for the Components field on the Issue View. Once you start using them on issues, they’ll show up on your Component page in your project, along with relevant information your devs can use.

• Any Jira Software user can use Compass components in JSW once Compass is provisioned on your site. To manage Compass components, one must have either basic or full user permissions.

  • Compass' Free plan allows for unlimited basic users and up to 3 full users. It’s important to know that Org Admins are automatically provisioned as full users. You can read more about Compass pricing and user types at this link.

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Let’s start with some background

I’ll give you a quick summary of what Compass is and how one uses it.

A Compass component is the combined output of a software engineering team, typically tracked in source control. A dedicated team owns, develops, and operates a component. Compass helps you catalog these components, map out how they depend on one another, and keep track of relevant information that helps your devs when they’re working. Compass also has advanced features like component metrics and events, scorecards, and integrates with third party applications.

The Compass catalog helps you find the things you need, faster. Using Compass components with Jira Software allows you to track the work being done on any given part of your software architecture, and Compass scorecards and metrics help you understand the impact of that work and make more informed decisions when prioritizing your backlog.

Compass has two types of users: basic users and full users.

• Basic users have access to create individual components and read the catalog, along with a few other basic features of Compass (like built-in scorecards to track component metrics.) You can have an unlimited number of basic users for free with any Compass plan.

• Full users have access to all of Compass. They can import components from outside sources, integrate apps, and create custom scorecards, metrics and templates. Our Free plan comes with 3 full users, and above that full users cost $7/user/month. Note that org admins are automatically provisioned as full users. (Check out our full pricing details here.)

What does this mean for me in Jira Software?

As of today, this feature is available in 100% of Jira Software company-managed projects*. You will see a new drop-down toggle in the Components page in the top right corner. That toggle will allow you to opt into Compass components, or opt back out if you prefer not to use it, with no risk of data loss.

In order to access Compass components, you will need to have Compass provisioned on your site. See the section above to see if you qualify for the Free plan. We are working on more ways to make Compass accessible to you all and will post updates when we have them.

Any Jira component data that you've already applied to historical issues will be preserved - there's no risk of data loss. You can toggle back and forth as many times as you'd like. (We’re aware of a bug that makes it look like you have no Jira components after opting out of Compass. Refresh the screen and your components will still be there. This will be fixed soon.)

New company-managed Jira Software projects will be created with Compass components opted in by default. You can still opt out and go back to Jira components if you prefer. This change will only take effect in Jira Software projects - Jira Service Management and Jira Work Management are not affected. Additionally, this feature isn’t available yet in team-managed projects.

Any user with JSW access can use the Component field. Only users with Compass access will be able to view the Components page information. Project Admin access is required to toggle between Compass and Jira components.

Learn more about:

• Compass components in Jira Software

• how to configure Compass components

• how to link issues to Compass components

_{* There are a few outliers who will get access in the coming months, like those sites using release tracks.}

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What does it look like?

On existing projects, you’ll see this spotlight highlighting the new drop-down. 

Once you click through the spotlight, you'll see this toggle. Project Admins can click it to switch between Compass and Jira Components for their project.

Here's what the field looks like! When a user clicks on Components after their project is opted into Compass components, they'll see the full list of Compass components to select from. These will be sorted by relevancy, so the most-used components per project will be at the top of the list. It's also searchable.

The id-gatekeeper component with the icon is from Compass. You will recognize Compass components on issues because they always have an icon. If there is a historical Jira component value on the issue already, it will be grayed out. Finance is an example of a historical Jira component that was applied to an issue before Compass components are opted in. 

Once your team starts tagging issues with Components, they'll be listed in the Components page. Ta-da! Note - the only way Components show up on this project (for now) is for them to be associated with an issue in that project. We'll work on adding other ways to list them here in future releases. 

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Known Issues

You may experience one of the below problems that we’re working to address.

1. Compass Components won't work in Automation. We're going to get this fix out as soon as we can, but for now, you won't be able to use them in Automation rules. I expect this fix to be out sometime around April.

2. You may need to refresh your screen after opting out of Compass components if your previous Jira components aren’t showing up. This is just a loading issue and not an issue with data storage. There’s no risk of data loss if you try out Compass components and decide not to use it.

3. If you have >30k Jira Projects, you may not see Compass components available. We’re still working out how to provide this functionality at such a large scale. 

Upcoming Improvements

These are improvements that we’re prioritizing for our upcoming roadmap.

1. Site-Wide Opt In/Out Toggle. Product admins can have total control if needed.

2. More ways to link Compass components to Jira projects for project admins. We’ll give you better tools to stay organized.

3. The ability to import existing Jira Components directly into Compass. We know this is a blocker for some of you and we’d like to work on it soon.

If you notice other bugs, or have other requests, please comment here or contact us through Intercom chat inside of Compass.

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How can I ask questions or share feedback?

• Read our feature documentation. It's likely we've covered conceptual, configuration, and procedural things there. (If we haven't, let us know.)

• Reply to this post with questions and feedback.

• Reach out to support.

• Contact us through Intercom chat inside of Compass.

[Jimi Wikman]

Very nice!

[JoEllen Carter]

How does Compass work with tools like Jellyfish?  Jellyfish has reports based on deliverable components.  What happens to those reports if someone switches to Compass components mid-stream?

[Mitchell Marsh]

Compass components in Jira Software are visual elements that provide insights into project health, progress, and performance. They include metrics like burnup charts, control charts, cumulative flow diagrams, and more. By leveraging Compass components, teams can gain a deeper understanding of their project's impact, identify bottlenecks, track progress, and make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency and delivery. Integrating these components into your Jira Software workflow enables teams to visualize key metrics, identify trends, and optimize their processes for better outcomes.

[Katie Silver]

@JoEllen Carter great question. The APIs are all backwards compatible and we don't do anything with your historical data, so all your existing reports will still be there. In terms of reports going forward, can you give me some more details into how the reports work? Happy to check on this for you. 

[Nicolas Galluzzo]

Will this also be available for team-managed projects at some point?

[JoEllen Carter]

@Katie Silver Jellyfish integrates with Jira as described here - https://help.jellyfish.co/hc/en-us/articles/13428996347277-Connecting-Jira-to-Jellyfish.   Screenshot shows where the components reside in the Jellyfish UI.    So definitely curious if the Jira components would persist or if Compass components would automagically get imported instead. 

[Shawn Crane]

Hi @Katie Silver

We have a couple of dev teams this could be very useful for, which means we exceed the free plan. But having to enabe the standard plan for all users across the entire site is cost prohibitive given the number of actual dev users. 

Are there any plans for more granular licensing controls?

Thanks.

[Katie Silver]

Hi @Shawn Crane , thanks for writing in. I'll outline how Compass pricing and user management works. It's pretty granular now but it's also a new model for Atlassian so it can be a little confusing. 

First, you need to know if your site is on the Original or Centralized billing experience, as outlined here. 

If you are on the Original billing experience still, you are only able to use Full users. That said, you can choose who to enable Compass access for - you don't have to turn it on for your whole site. There's no need to align tiers with Jira or anything like that. (You can contact support if you are interested in moving to the Centralized billing experience, which we recommend.) 

If you are on the Centralized billing experience, there are two user types - Basic and Full. 

• Full users - have access to all of Compass, including custom features, importing and apps.
• Basic users - have limited access to the Compass catalog (read and write on individual components) and access to basic scorecards and metrics. Basic users can still use Compass components in JSW and view the Components page.
• JSW users without a Compass license can still use the Components field in JSW, but won't be able to access the Components page. 

So, you have several options: 

1. Give all your users full access - this would be the $7/user/month rate or corresponding annual price. 
2. Give some users full access, and some basic access. Basic users are free for an unlimited number on any plan. 
3. Give some users full access, and other users no access. 
4. Give some users full access, some users basic access, and other users no access. 

Hope this helps!

[Katie Silver]

@Nicolas Galluzzo I would love to bring this to team-managed projects. I'm not quite sure of timing yet but I do anticipate it will happen at some point. 

[Andrei]

Hi @JoEllen Carter

Thank you for your patience. That documentation is unfortunately not available for non-jellyfish customers so I can't really speak exhaustively to how that integration works.

I did reach out to one of our contacts over at Jellyfish and my understanding is that the data that Jellyfish acts on consists of components that are assigned to issues.

Turning on Compass components does not affect any of the existing issue to component assignments, so all existing issues will retain their existing values for components.

For new issues that you'd assign Compass components to, those should be treated just like regular Jira components as far as the integration is concerned.

Please let me know if that answers your question, or if you encounter any additional issues with this integration.

[Rory Strickler]

Would it be possible to prioritize the admin toggle of this feature? We are afraid of users who are project admins potentially turning on a feature they do not understand and breaking existing configurations.

[Katie Silver]

@Rory Strickler hey Rory, we are working on a version of the toggle right now. I expect to see it released in the next month or two. I'd still suggest communicating your preferences with your project admins to be safe. 

[P.D. Foerster]

Please tell us what happens if a team wants to opt out but already has several Compass components within JSW. Will they become invisible (since deactivating components is still not possible in Cloud) or are they transformed to JIra native components so users can continue using them like the ones before opting in?

[Katie Silver]

Hi @P.D. Foerster , good question. Once you opt out of Compass components, any that you had applied to issues will stay there, but they will be grayed out. You won't be able to apply them to new issues however - only Jira components. You would need to create new Jira components with the Compass component names if you'd like to use them that way. 

[JoEllen Carter]

New question - is it possible to pilot Compass components for a single project, or do they replace Jira components everywhere when I opt-in?  How do I evaluate the product without affecting all teams/engineers?

[Katie Silver]

Hi @JoEllen Carter , you can opt in for a single project at a time :) 

[Jamie MacDonald]

I'm excited to attend the webinar event this week!!

[Pedro Martins]

Thank you, this was something needed in our company to track who is working in what in a more thorough method.

[Stephen Costanzo]

Still not understanding how/why this is better than the existing component feature. As I understand it, these become "site-wide" values that any project can attach to. Therefore, it's basically the existing label functionality. 

It does seem like it could become confusing if your company has multiple websites or areas where the component name could be same as the "what" of the thing being done is the same, but the "how" depends if it is, or is not in a different security context. So as opposed to each project being able to have "handle Rabbit" as a component and people in the Plains team handle Rabbits different than the people in the Desert team - we need to now create a "handle Plains Rabbit" and "handle Desert Rabbit" component. 

Hopefully there will be a webinar or something to provide a better set of use cases. 

[Nicola Carraro]

@Hi @Katie Silver

I've just tried to activate compass components, but I keep getting stuck on Error updating Global Components Property error message.

Anyone else experiencing a similar problem?

[Katie Silver]

Hmm, @Nicola Carraro is that still happening today? I haven't heard about it but if it is, let me know and we can dig in more. You could also file a ticket at support.atlassian.com if you are eligible. 

[Katie Silver]

hey @Stephen Costanzo , there is a webinar actually - here is the link: https://www.atlassian.com/webinars/software/track-your-services-with-jira-software-and-compass

Labels are a bit less structured than Compass components, but it is a similar concept. However Compass has a ton of additional functionality available to help software teams do their best work. Hope the webinar is helpful and opens the door to some new ideas!

[Nicola Carraro]

@Katie Silver I had contacted support already and they fixed it today.

[Katie Silver]

Here's a new post that answers some FAQ about Compass and introduces new admin controls! https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-Software-articles/Addressing-feedback-about-Compass-components-in-JSW-a-new-admin/ba-p/2645180#M12682

[Mario Cappellano]

Hi @Katie Silver ,

Is it possible to access Compass Components from a Service project as opposed to a Software one?

I don't see the ability to do so in project settings, is that by design, or an upcoming improvement maybe?

Cheers,

Mario